Simmons Says: Jays seem unwilling to gamble on Encarnacion

Toronto Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins, manager John Gibbons and president/CEO Mark Shapiro chat while watching the first official workout of spring training in Dunedin, Fla., on Feb. 22, 2016. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)

Edwin Encarnacion is convinced he won’t be back with the Blue Jays beyond the coming season.

He may be correct.

The self-imposed deadline he placed on contract negotiations — he needed a deal done before the start of the new season — will pass without Encarnacion signing a new deal. And that’s probably a cautious piece of business on behalf of the new Jays front office in light of the growing list of worries about Encarnacion’s future.

He ended last season with a finger injury that hindered his post-season success. That finger has not been repaired .

He underwent hernia surgery in the off-season yet has missed all of spring training to date, primarily due to an oblique injury. Another term for oblique injuries — sports hernias. So, what was apparently repaired over the winter is still troubling Encarnacion now.

No matter what has been wrong with Encarnacion over the years, the man has produced. He’s produced with hand problems. He’s produced with a bad back. He’s produced with lower stomach ailments.

The question: how much longer can be produce? He may be three years younger than Jose Bautista, without Bautista's body.

Signing Encarnacion now would represent the kind of gamble president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins don’t seem willing to take. Waiting the season out, and then making a determination on whether they want him for 2017 and beyond may be the most prudent way to proceed.

THIS AND THAT

The Leafs said they wouldn’t rush William Nylander. He has played 10 NHL games, most of it at centre, and heading into Saturday night has yet to register his first assist. He doesn’t exactly look NHL-ready. The good news is, he’ll go back to the Marlies and hopefully get in a long playoff run ... The reason the Leafs don’t care about blowing a year on Nylander’s contract: With all the young players coming in over the next few seasons, they want to stagger the commencement of contracts. That way they don’t end up with too many restricted free agents in the same year ... This is an historical Leafs season, and not for the right reasons. Whether Nazem Kadri or Leo Komarov lead the club in scoring is moot: What’s important to know is whomever does lead the Leafs in scoring will become the lowest club scoring leader in post-Original Six history. Previously, Phil Kessel had the lowest total at 55 points in 2010. Before that, you have to go back to Dave Keon’s 52 points in 1967, Frank Mahovlich’s 51 in 1965 and Dick Duff’s 49 points in 1958 to find anything resembling comparables, even with schedules significantly shorter. Neither Kadri nor Komarov will end the season with as much as 50 points ... You know this is a dreadful season for Canadian NHL teams when it’s the first time post-lockout that no Canadian team will reach 100 points. And not a single Canadian team will likely reach the 90-point mark ... In the post-lockout NHL, you need to average 95 points to make the Western Conference playoffs. This year, one of Colorado or Minnesota will get in, likely with fewer than 90 points. This is the easiest season to make the playoffs in more than a decade, which makes the Canadian plight that much worse ... Every time I get close to believing in the Philadelphia Flyers, they slap me back to some kind of reality ... It’s always a good day when Rafael Nadal is playing Novak Djokovic on my television set, and the winner gets to play Milos Raonic on Sunday.

HEAR AND THERE

On Opening Day a year ago, Jose Reyes was at shortstop, Brett Cecil was the closer, Chris Colabello was in the minors and Marco Estrada was in the Blue Jays bullpen. Historically, the issues/decisions of the spring don’t always factor in the real issues/decisions of the season. In other words, it doesn’t really matter who the Jays fifth starter or closer is on Opening Day. Performance will trump spring training decisions nine times out of ten ... The Jays have starting pitching depth like they’ve never had before. They have eight big-league starters, but what they don’t have is a terrific top-of-the-rotation staff. Great defence and a big offence can make up for that. But that’s why I favour Aaron Sanchez as a starting pitcher. He has a chance to be great. Who else, besides Marcus Stroman, maybe Estrada, has a chance to be that? ... If the Raptors had Bismack Biyombo last spring, how different would that playoff series against the Washington Wizards have been? .... Among this off-season's promotions, Bill Belichick has promoted his son, Steve, from a minor coaching role with the Patriots to less minor role as safeties coach ... Two seasons in, two great second halves for Mark Stone. It’s the first half that needs to get better ... Old seems new with the Los Angeles Kings right now: Vinny Lecavalier is scoring at a 20-goal pace. Kris Versteeg is making a difference. Rob Scuderi is getting serious minutes and Luke Schenn isn’t terrible. What seemed desperate by Dean Lombardi now is appearing to be reasonable ... I hope you stayed up Saturday night to watch Golden State play San Antonio. We don’t get those kind of treats very often.

SCENE AND HEARD

What’s preventing Seattle from an NHL expansion franchise is what’s preventing Montreal from getting back into Major League Baseball: No arena/stadium to play in and no rich guy to own the club. Other than that, all is well ... Sometimes things just work out right: Matt Harvey is the Opening Day pitcher for the New York Mets. The opponents: The Kansas City Royals ... Mason, Miles, Marshall and Madeline: Meet the Plumlee children ... Getting it right: The Dodgers have Vin Scully on the cover of this year’s media guide in his last season as the best of big-league broadcasters ... Canadian Tristan Thompson had his 20th double double with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night. That’s up from 12 a year ago ... If you’re a Marlie and you haven’t been called up yet, what are you thinking? ... After screaming about the stats guys' love of Martin Marincin, the defenceman went out and played the greatest games of his career .... Four months after losing assistant coach Jason Maas to Edmonton, the Ottawa RedBlacks are still fighting for compensation. Memo to the neophyte RedBlacks and the neophyte CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge: Nowhere in football do you get compensation for a coordinator being promoted elsewhere to a head coaching job ... The Washington Capitals are the best regular season team in the NHL and all of its stars were brought to Washington by former GM George McPhee. The big move made after McPhee was fired and replaced by Brian MacLellan was the hiring of coach Barry Trotz ... What you might not remember: When the second year Raptors beat the 72-10 Chicago Bulls, the winning shot was in the hands of Steve Kerr, who missed. Kerr now coaches the Golden State Warriors, who were 62-6 heading into Saturday's games.

AND ANOTHER THING

Jose Bautista to Hall of Fame baseball writer Bob Elliott: “It’s not a difficult spring. I haven’t forgotten how to play baseball. I’m not worried. Neither is Edwin (Encarnacion).” ... After rookie Artemi Panarin scored his 25th goal, 20 of them assisted by Patrick Kane, I asked Brendan Shanahan if he could score 25 playing alongside Kane. His answer: “Sure, if the games were played every two weeks.” ... Leafs made an offer to Panarin but have no idea how close they came to signing him. “I think he made a good choice,” said Shanahan ... Goals in the NHL are becoming like catches in football. I don’t know what’s what anymore ... Playing for the GTHL Marlies in the OHL Cup tournament this weekend: Danil Antropov and Tyler Spott, sons of the usual suspects ... Virtually every NHL player who has been posthumously diagnosed with CTE, the degenerative brain disease, was a drinker of some consequence and, in some cases, an alcoholic. Why isn’t more made of that? ... Every time I hear an NFL player blaming the league for the conditions of former players, I wonder: Where is the NFL Players Association and what responsibility should the players, via their own union, take for taking care of their own ... Admit it: Before this week, you never heard of French’s Ketchup. Mustard yes. Ketchup no .... Jamie Dykstra is leaving the CFL head office to take a senior communications job with the Toronto Argonauts. A good pickup for the Double Blue ... Here’s how it works: You get to play at the old Maple Leaf Gardens, and suddenly sports matters at your school. Ryerson playing for national championships? Congrats and who knew? ... About that Michigan State championship, never mind. And can I have my $10 back? ... Happy birthday to Bobby Orr (68), Leo Rautins (56), Pat Riley (71), Charlie Simmer (62), Sting, the artist not the singer (57), Dennis Wideman (33) and Spike Lee (58) ... And hey, whatever became of Mike Ridley?

***

This has been a remarkable season of growth for DeMar DeRozan in so many ways, but maybe none more significant than this number: In the second half of the NBA season, he is outscoring LeBron James.

It’s only by a point per game. But, symbolically, that by itself is enormous.

DeRozan has never been the leading scorer in the Eastern Conference and nor is he likely to ever be. But right now, with this Raptors team, he is all but matching the scoring accomplishments of an all-time great and, in some ways, bettering them.

He can’t be a LeBron-type player — who can? — but in March, DeRozan is averaging 27.9 points per game, almost four points more than James has scored, just two points behind Stephen Curry, this month.

What’s been impressive about DeRozan is his consistency: He scores virtually the same number of points in wins and losses (he’s slightly better at home, averaging 25.3 points per game to the 22.1 he scored on the road).

The next step for DeRozan, though, is this: Learning how to close. Being better in the final seconds of tight games.

In the final 30 seconds of games within six points, he’s shooting just 25% and that number would reduce if the times he didn’t get shots off was factored into the equation. That number will be tested again come playoff time.

***

Once in a while you would see a kid in the clubhouse or the dressing room.

Once in a while Prince Fielder would be in a Blue Jays uniform taking early batting practice or Max Domi would jump on the ice after Leafs practice or Steph Curry would shoot baskets a couple of hours before Raptors games.

Once in a while.

William Nylander can relate to this: He grew up around NHL rinks while his dad was still playing. But usually the dressing room access came on an off-day or a special day.

What it never has been is every day.

The Adam LaRoche controversy makes so little sense, the ridiculous splintering of the Chicago White Sox over the presence of a teenage boy in the clubhouse.

LaRoche wanted his son there every day. The White Sox, being the mature ones in this idiocy, said no. LaRoche took his home-schooled son, his glove, and his ball and walked out on the last year of a $13-million contract.

How’s that for your first economics class, kid? Daddy left $13 million behind because he wanted you sitting next to him?

There is a room across the hall from the Blue Jays clubhouse in Toronto for the players’ wives, girlfriends and children. There is time most days to walk across the hall, hug your kids, say hello to your family, and go back to work. Like a lot of us do.

Once in a while, when my kids were younger, I took them to work. Once in a while.

Simmons Says: Jays seem unwilling to gamble on Encarnacion

Edwin Encarnacion is convinced he won’t be back with the Blue Jays beyond the coming season.

He may be correct.

The self-imposed deadline he placed on contract negotiations — he needed a deal done before the start of the new season — will pass without Encarnacion signing a new deal. And that’s probably a cautious piece of business on behalf of the new Jays front office in light of the growing list of worries about Encarnacion’s future.

He ended last season with a finger injury that hindered his post-season success. That finger has not been repaired .

He underwent hernia surgery in the off-season yet has missed all of spring training to date, primarily due to an oblique injury. Another term for oblique injuries — sports hernias. So, what was apparently repaired over the winter is still troubling Encarnacion now.

No matter what has been wrong with Encarnacion over the years, the man has produced. He’s produced with hand problems.